Have I Got a Story For You
by Embers and Dust
Summary: Gotham is a city full of secrets, so obviously its vigilantes have some as well. These are one-shots on how the Team discovers a few.
1. Identity

**The many secrets of the Bats, and how the team found out. I will be taking suggestions for the future.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own any of it.**

* * *

Robin refused to break eye contact. If he did, he would forfeit any chance he had of winning this argument.

"So," he said, almost at a whisper, "Can I?"

His question was met with silence, and that time gave Robin the chance to reflect on exactly how he could have done this better. He and Batman had just gotten back from a routine patrol, and while the larger of the two sat at the Bat Computer and began typing, Robin had finally gathered the courage to ask if he could reveal his secret identity to the Team.

It wasn't a dumb question, the team had been working well for a year and a half, and most of them had been included in Robin's adopted family tree. They were his brothers and sisters in crime fighting, while the League were like his aunts and uncles. It was family. But they still didn't know his name. However, there were a few major problems with telling them, mostly along the lines of ' _Oh! Dick Grayson is Robin? Then Bruce Wayne is Batman!'._ And that was a major problem. So during the very tense silence, Dick was mentally preparing for the worst. He was so caught up in his own thoughts he almost didn't hear the Dark Knight respond.

"I'm sorry, what?" Robin exclaimed, partially confused and very shocked.

Batman sighed from his seat in front of the Bat Computer. He noticed with a small amount of amusement, that Robin had fallen off of the table in shock. "You heard me." Bruce said, standing up. "You can tell them. But you need to know why I'm allowing this." He continued, helping his son to his feet. "In our... profession, secret identities protect our other half of our lives from the enemies we are constantly fighting."

"I know-" Robin said, hopping back up onto the table.

"I want to make sure you do." Batman interrupted. Pausing to make sure Robin was listening, he continued. "Working and fighting together in the Justice League takes a huge amount of trust. We work well together because we all know each other's limits. We put our lives in each other's hands."

"Yeah, and you guys are awesome-"

"Will you let me finish?" Batman scolded with no real malice, as he sat back into his chair.

"Heh. Yeah. Sorry."

"When I say lives, I mean our lives as superheroes." Bruce explained. "And that isn't all we are. When we share the other half, our ' _true'_ identities, it shows that we trust them with all of our life. Not just our chosen one."

Robin ran his hand through his dark hair. "But the League trusts us, and only founding members know who we really are."

"Think of the ones that don't," Batman replied, "Do you really think that they can trust us completely, when we don't do the same?"

"...No, I guess not"

"Exactly. When we give someone our identities, we show that we can be vulnerable, and we trust them not to take advantage of it." Bruce paused and took his cowl off over his head. Placing it beside him, He turned around to face the computer. "Make sure you understand that before you tell your team."

Robin took off his mask as Dick contemplated Batman's words. The silence in the cave continued as Batman worked, and Robin studied the mask in his hands. Soon, Batman had finished his work and stood up. "Have you made a decision?" He questioned, even if he already knew the answer.

Robin nodded and placed the mask on the table beside him. He smirked up to his father "If the team trusts Robin with their secrets, then Richard Grayson can trust them with his."

Nodding once, Batman went to the changing rooms. Finally out of his armor, he walked towards the entrance to the manor. He stopped when he saw that Dick had not moved from his spot on the table. Turning back to his son, he heard Robin mumble, "Now I have to think of how to tell them."

Bruce stopped walking. Robin had the _look_ on his face. The one that promised chaos to anyone in his way.

"Try not to traumatize them too much. The team has a mission soon" Bruce said, and turned right back around. There was no way he was going to get into the middle of this.

Batman's comment was met with a cackle, and Bruce only felt slightly sorry for the team.

* * *

Robin had trouble not jumping with joy when he reached Mount Justice. _Today_ , he decided, _will be a good day_. Hundreds of different ideas of how to tell the team his identity raced through his head, each more ridiculous than the last. _I need_ _to do this just_ right, he thought, _I've only got one chance. I guess I could tell them seperately, but I don't want to wait..._

As he thought, He turned his broad smile into a small smirk and sauntered into the living room. _Can't have them catch on to me and ruin the surprise._

Greeting his team, he sat down on the couch. Kaldur was reading a book beside him, M'gann was in the kitchen trying out a new recipe and warding off Wally's attempt to steal the sweet ingredients. Artemis and Conner were on the other couch having a silent staring contest. Their showdown was over the most prized possession in the mountain, the TV remote.

Conner had wanted to watch static, and Artemis had wanted to watch, well, _anything_ else. Thus, the battle for the remote. The team used to actually fight for it, but when Black canary had walked into a destroyed living room, she had declared that they needed to find a non-violent way to decide. And because they were the mature, well reasoned partners of the Justice League, they decided on a staring contest.

Somehow Conner blinked first. He groaned as he picked up the remote and flipped away from the static. Robin continued to ponder his multiple _hilarious_ options, when Artemis's voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"Hold up Connor, go back"

"Why?"

"I thought I just saw someone from my school"

Shifting his eyes to the TV, Robin saw a _very_ familiar face on the screen.' _Richard Grayson was seen with his adopted Father, Bruce Wayne at last night's latest Charity Gala for the Gotham Police Department...'_

"Hey! I know him!" Artemis exclaimed, "He goes to my school!"

"What!" Wally jumped up from the counter and sprinted over to her side, "You didn't say you were friends with a Billionaire!"

"We're not really friends, he just helps me in math sometimes."

"Ah, so he's hot and smart?" said Zatanna, who was just walking in with Rocket. Seeing her, Robin blushed, and like the gentleman he was, gave her his seat. Not trusting himself to keep his cool as his friends watched him on TV, he excused himself to the bathroom. He then stopped in the shadows of the doorway, just out of sight of the team.

... _Richard charmed his way into everyone's hearts when he presented the final check of 30,000 dollars to Commissioner Gordon. However, it wasn't until after the ceremony that the young man was seen on the outdoor balcony with none other than the daughter of the commissioner, Barbara Gordon. Is their relationship strictly platonic? Or is something going on between the two? Perhaps Richard 'Dick' Grayson-Wayne is trying to follow his father's shoes as Gotham's playboy prince..._

Robin silently snorted in exasperation. Sure, he and Barbara had been spending a lot of time together, but why did the press feel the need to push them together? He hated how whenever they were able to spend good quality time together, the paparazzi managed to get in the way.

Speaking of paparazzi, they were getting worse now that he was older. As Robin he was used to having fans, he was the first kid partner after all. But now Richard Grayson-Wayne had fans too. For a fourteen year old boy, Dick had been ambushed way too many times by reporters, celebrity gossips and fangirls. He had entire websites dedicated to Robin and Richard respectively. It was getting ridiculous.

Robin was so lost in his own train of thought that he missed whatever Rocket had said.

"...really cute after all."

"Really cute?" Zatanna exclaimed, leaning forward and supporting her head in her hands as she studied the television. "More like really dreamy!"

"Yeah..." agreed Artemis, her eyes unfocused as she remembered the times she had seen the boy billionaire. "I guess I didn't realize... but you're right. He's kinda hot. I think it's the eyes."

"Seriously?" Wally huffed, crossing his arms. "I don't see what's so great about that kid. He's What? 14?"

"No, I can see what she means," M'gann interrupted, "He fits the human definition of good-looking." Noticing his girlfriend's distraction, Conner glared jealously at the TV screen.

"Not you too M'gann!" Wally cried, dramatically throwing his hands in the air.

"It doesn't matter if he looks good." Conner grumbled. "He's probably just a spoiled brat."

Zatanna's eyes had a mischievous spark when she turned to the clone. "You just admitted that you thought he was hot."

Conner sputtered and glared at the magician. Sensing an argument, M'gann walked over to the couches.

"Kaulder what do you think?" inquired M'gann.

"I honestly do not have an opinion." He replied calmly, eyes never leaving the book he was reading.

"Ever the peacekeeper, Kaulder." Rocket teased.

Kaulders eyes flicked upward for a moment, "Aquaman had me research the surface world before I came here. All I know is that Richard is the adopted son of Bruce Wayne, one of the most powerful and influential people in the world. As I have never met him, I can have no opinion."

"But he's still good looking." Zatanna said, leaning back into the couch.

"I...Uhh" Kaulder stuttered.

"Just say yes." Artemis prompted.

"Yes?" he asked, and the girls high-fived.

Robin was SO glad he had left the room early. His face had slowly been turning redder and redder from embarrassment. Sure, he had been happy for his recent growth spurt, and it was asterous that he had filled out a bit more. But that was only because it helped Robin pack a more powerful punch. He had no idea that it would affect his team like this. He had enough fans as it is.

He had to suppress a shudder as he remembered some _very_ crazed fangirls. He had honestly thought a horde of zombies had come for his brains.

Robin looked back at his friends. Seeing them react to him, without knowing it was him was really weird. All the girls were looking at his picture dreamily, with varying levels of innocence in their gaze. Kaldur, at least, looked disinterested and was focusing on his book, but both Conner and Wally looked like they wanted to hit 'that Grayson kid' for tempting their girlfriends, it was easy to see that they were jealous of his alternate persona.

Suddenly an idea struck Robin, and it was all he could do to not cackle in glee. Oh this would be _Perfect._

 _"_ Whatever, I still don't like him." Grumbled Wally.

"Really Wally?" laughed Zatanna. "He's Rich and Good looking! People call him the Prince of Gotham! What more do you want?"

Silently thanking her for this golden opportunity, Robin stepped behind his friends."Gee Zatanna," He snickered, "there's more to people than meets the eye."

The entire team jumped, having not heard the silent bird slip back into the room. Wally turned around to greet his best friend.

"Oh Good, Robin. We need your opinion on-"

Wally's voice cut off.

Everyone looked at Wally, wondering what had managed the impossible task of silencing the speedster. Wally was as white as a sheet, squeaking something that sounded a lot like "help."

While everyone was watching Wally, Artemis followed the speedster's gaze to their youngest member. She soon mirrored Wally's reaction.

"Y-Your mask." she stuttered.

Realization struck the team, and they all whipped their heads around to look at Robin.

Artemis's brain refused to accept what she saw.

Wally had started to vibrate.

The book in Kaulders hand dropped to the floor.

Conner had accidentally broken the armrests on the couch.

With a thump, Megan stopped levitating.

Rocket's mouth dropped open in shock.

It didn't even look like Zatanna was breathing.

There, standing in the doorway, with his mask in his hands, was Robin.

Zatanna looked directly into his bright blue eyes. _The same eyes she had just called hot on TV._

The entire room was dead silent.

Wally broke the silence."No. Way."

"Y-your-" stuttered M'gann.

"Yup." Cackled Robin, his cerulean eyes sweeping over his utterly gobsmacked team.

"Why.." Asked Kaulder

"I talked to Batman and we came to an agreement, something about trust going both ways."

Batman's voice came over the intercom. "Team, Report to Mission Room in five."

Robin replaced his mask and began walking away. Smirking, he looked back at his still frozen team, "I don't really like being called Richard, so just call me Dick Grayson." With a cocky wave, he swept out of the door.

No one else even dared breath. Artemis was the first to get over her shock.

Swearing, Artemis turned to her team, "That little troll."

Her voice shook them out of their amazement.

Wally nervously laughed, "Well that's enough world-shattering news for one day" he joked. The rest of the team nodded in agreement, and he reached for the remote. However, as he tried to turn it off, he accidentally un-muted the television, catching the last part of the newscast.

' _... whether or not Richard follows in his adopted father, Bruce Wayne's, footsteps, he certainly has the potential.'_

Kaldur slammed his book closed and quickly stood up to get ready for the mission, and Conner and M'gann stumbled after him.

Zatanna, Rocket and Artemis only stared at where Robin had been.

Wally screamed.

* * *

A few days after the "Robin Revelation" as Wally had so elegantly stated, things had surprisingly gone back to normal. Almost the entire team was gathered in the living room, slumping on the couches, resting after a mission. Robin was especially exhausted, and was extremely grateful for the silence. That was, until the hyperactive speedster zoomed in.

"Guys! Did you see us!" Kid Flash exclaimed. "We totally got them! I was all _Swish!_ and Superboy was like _Rahhhh!_ And-" He was cut off by a collective groan.

"Shut it Wally." Grumbled Artemis.

"Yeah," Agreed Robin. "I've got a massive headache, and your rambling is not helping."

Wally's smile faltered for a moment, and then turned into a devious smirk. "Alright, I get it Robin. No need to be such a _Dick_ about it."

Robin spun around and unleashed the full force of the Bat-glare on Wally, and Kid Flash shrunk under his gaze. The room was tensely silent everyone watching how the Boy Wonder would handle this. Apparently, Robin had managed to convey his message non-verbally, and soon Wally was creeping over to a vacant place on the couch. "Alright. _Alright_. Sheesh, no more name jokes, _I got it._ "

The room fell back into silence. Then Megan gasped and all eyes turned to her. "Robin do you remember the campfire?" She asked tentatively.

"Yeah, what about them?" He asked

"Well... If you want- I mean..." She stuttered.

Wally caught onto her train of thought. "Ohmygosh. Rob could you?"

Artemis placed a hand on her boyfriend's shoulder. "Slow down. What campfire?" She asked.

"When the team had just barely started, Robin, Kid Flash, Superboy, Miss Martian and I went camping outside of the mountain." Kaulder explained. "We each told our respective origin stories, except Robin."

Robin laughed and looked at the hopeful faces around him. "I thought you guys would have known already. I mean, just google my name and you can find my favorite color."

"Nah, Man, That's not your origin story." Wally argued. "We could probably figure out your secret I.D.s story, but not _Robin's_ story." This was met by sounds of agreement around the room. "What d'ya say?"

 _Ah what's the harm._ Thought Robin. _They already know my name._ "Sure, why not?" He smirked. Wally jumped up in joy. "Yes!" He exclaimed. "We get to hear how the first partner got started!"

Soon everyone was facing the Boy Wonder. Superboy was sitting on the armrest of the couch that held Artemis, Zatanna and Rocket, while Wally sat on the other side. Megan and Kaldur sat on the kitchen bar stools, and looked at Dick, who was sitting on the armchair by himself.

Robin rested his chin in his hands and began speaking. "Where do I even start?" He asked. "I was born and raised in a circus. Haley's Circus to be precise."

"Whoa, Hold up." Artemis interrupted. "That circus where we busted Parasite?"

Robin laughed nervously. "Heh. Yup. That particular mission _might_ not have been ordered by Batman." Artemis buried her face in her hands, and Robin continued.

"So I grew up in Haley's Circus with my family. Me, my mom, Dad, Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin. Together we were the Flying Graysons, some of the best acrobats and trapeze artists in the world. We performed without nets, and pulled the craziest stunts ever seen." Robin's smile faded, and he paused. "Then, when I was eight years old, we went to Gotham."

A sense of foreboding fell over the team. Something in Dick's tone warned them.

"It was the first show I was allowed to do our signature move in." He said, looking at the ground. "Our entire family could do a quadruple backflip and land on the same trapeze." He took in a shaky breath. "I was about to jump, and the rope snapped." Megan gasped and covered her mouth.

"Everyone thought It was an accident. I knew better, I saw a mob boss named Tony Zucco trying to extort the circus. I told the police. The rest was a blur. Bits and pieces maybe." Robin rubbed his eyes furiously, and everyone knew better than to acknowledge it.

A few moments he began again. "One thing I remember with perfect clarity, was meeting Bruce. He had been in the audience. He didn't say things would be ok, or that I would get better. He said he was sorry, and that whoever did this would be caught. He knew exactly what I needed to hear, because he knew what it was like."

Zatanna cocked her head. "Why-"

Robin cut her off with a sharp glance. "We tell our own stories." he growled. She nodded slowly and he continued.

"Since I was a key witness in a murder, I had to go to a secure place. A normal foster home wouldn't cut it." Robin shifted in his seat. "They looked into the orphanages, and they were filled to the brim. So I was sent to Juvenile hall."

"What?" Rocket shrieked.

"That can't be legal!" Zatanna agreed.

"Sadly it is Zee." Robin answered. "It's supposed to be a temporary stay until another place opens up." The team looked at him in shock. "For me, a temporary stay was two weeks."

The team cried out in shock. "That's Insane!" gasped Artemis.

"That's Gotham." Replied Robin. "Honestly, if Bruce hadn't gotten me out after those two weeks, I would probably be in Arkham right now." His friend's could only gape at him in stunned silence, and Robin took this as permission to continue. "But he volunteered his house as a temporary foster home, at least until another place opened I suddenly found myself to be the ward of the richest man in Gotham."

"And thus, The Dynamic Duo was Born!" Wally exclaimed, jumping to his feet.

Robin laughed out loud. "You really think it was that easy?" he asked. "A week in my new home, I snuck out of the house to track down Zucco."

At this, Kaulder had to interrupt. "Pardon me, but you were eight."

"Yes."

"Is that not abnormal behavior for a child at your age?"

Robin looked over to where Kalder was sitting. "Kalder, I've been many things. Normal has never been one of them." Robin then clapped and rubbed his hands together. "Anyway, back to the story. I snuck out of the house a lot, no one ever seemed to be around. However, instead of finding Zucco, I found Batman."

"What'd you do?" inquired M'gann.

Robin laughed "I ran away as fast as I could. He caught me, of course. But I gave a good chase, and I'm pretty sure that impressed him."

But M'gann was still curious. "And after that?"

"He asked me what the hell I was thinking. I told him, and he let me go, but after that, every time I found a lead on Zucco, Batman would be there. I saw Batman way more than I saw Bruce in my first few weeks at the Manor."

"So what happened?" Asked Zatanna. "What turned you into the Boy Wonder we know and love today?"

"Really, _really_ long story short?" Robin said. "We confronted Zucco, Batman got hurt, I saved both of them from falling to their deaths, I left Zucco for the cops, and the Batmobile autopilot brought us to the Batcave. I'll never forget the moment after he bandaged himself up, Batman asked me why I didn't kill Zucco. When I told him I wasn't looking for revenge, and that I only wanted to bring him to justice, He took off his mask."

"And thus, The Dynamic-"

"No, Wally." Robin cut off. "Maybe after a year and a half of brutal training in multiple types of martial arts, languages, forensics, technology, and psychology, sure. I'm still in training now."

" _Yeahhhh_ , but technically we all are. Soooooo..." Wally teased.

Robin sighed. "Go ahead Wally."

"And Thus!" Wally said, standing up again with a flourish. "The. Dynamic. Duo. Was born! The Dark Knight and Squire against the perils of-" As Wally continued his small rant, Artemis leaned over to Robin.

"Do you think he'll do this for long?" She asked.

"I'm not sure." Robin joked back. "But I know for a fact that Wally was a fanboy before he became Kid Flash."

"-never fear! If the signal in the sky is-" Wally continued walking around the room, completely oblivious.

"Really? Oh that is perfect blackmail material." Artemis said. She looked over to the Boy Wonder. "But seriously, thanks for sharing." She whispered, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I know for a fact that sharing backstories is hard, so... Yeah, thanks."

Robin somberly smiled back to her. "Of course Arty. What are Friends for?"

"-Batman and Robin are on the Case!" Yelled Wally.

He said this, of course, right before he was hit in the face with multiple pillows.

* * *

 **Reviews and suggestions** **are appreciated!**


	2. Deadly

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

* * *

The world ended on a monday.

Surprisingly, the morning began very normally. The sun was shining, birds chirping, and Miss Martian was cooking breakfast for the inhabitants of Mount Justice.

Conner walked into the kitchen and smelled the eggs burning long before he saw the Martian cooking. M'gann looked up and smiled while she threw away her second pan of blackened eggs.

"Good morning Conner!" She chirped. The clone nodded and grunted before he lowered himself into a chair. Although her eggs still needed some work, M'gann was becoming a better cook. In front of him was a spread of breakfast foods that would make anyone drool. He pulled a large plate full of bacon and sausage towards him as M'gann sat down next to him.

"How did you sleep?" She asked. Conner was saved from answering when an emergency signal sounded from the mission room.

M'gann jumped up and flew to the large training area with Conner on her heels. As she activated the holoscreen, Zatanna rushed in. The magicians hair was a tangled mess, and her shirt was rumpled. Obviously she had rushed out of bed to hear the alert.

"Whats up?" She asked, smoothing out her hair as best she could.

"I don't really know," Miss Martian responded, opening a screen in front of her.

"We were about to eat breakfast when we heard the alarm." Explained Superboy. Something on the screen caught his eye, and he pointed to it. "Look it's not just an alarm. There's a message." he noted, and he reached over to the keyboard to open it.

In the message, Robin was standing on a dark rooftop, and he looked like hell. His hair was matted with blood and dirt, his cape was gone, and his red tunic was a shredded mess that showed the dark kevlar beneath.

"Robin!" Miss Martian exclaimed.

"Oh my God!" gasped Zatanna. "What happened to you?"

Robins face hardened and he scowled with none of his signature humor. "Nevermind that now. I need one of you to send a Priority Red Alert from the mountain to all known allies of the Justice League." The team gaped at him, but he ignored it. "Then contact Superman and tell him to gather the Justice League at Mount Justice."

"What? Robin we can't do that!" cried M'gann.

"Why not?" He snapped. Everyone took a shocked step back, he was in a really bad mood if he was snapping at the nicest member on the team. It was Zatanna who moved forward first. She Immediately pulled up a new screen next to her and began typing, a few moments later she stopped.

"We don't have clearance, Rob." she said.

"Damnit!" Robin cursed, and suddenly ducked down to avoid the rocks that flew over his head. Still crouching, he typed something on his wrist computer. "There, Ok you have clearance Zee." Robin said. "Now I need you to- Batman!" The roof he was standing on began shaking. "Gather the League!" Robin yelled. "We'll be there as soon-"

What Robin said was cut off as the line turned into static, and the cave was left in silence.

* * *

In 28 minutes, the Justice League were entirely assembled in Mount Justice. While it was not uncommon for them to have large meetings, most of the team had never seen them all together at the same time, and especially so on edge. It was obvious that a red alert must have been a major problem if Superman looked nervous.

Finally someone decided to cut to the chase. "So what's the deal Superman?" asked Captain Marvel, his voice rising above the silent mumblings around the cave.

"We have a Red Alert." said Superman, who was standing in front of the gathering of heroes. "We're waiting to be debriefed on the situation."

Billy scratched his head. "Yeah, what's up with that? Don't we get those, like, every other month?"

Diana shook her head. "Not from Gotham." she said, effectively silencing the room.

It took The Flash a few moments to process this. "Holy shit." his mumbled words echoing around the room. "This is bad. If the Bat's are calling for help..." He trailed off, but the thought alone sent the room into a slight panic.

"How the hell are-"

"-Gotham is insane-"

"-one time! I nearly died-"

"How the-"

Unbeknownst to the most powerful people on earth, the zeta beams suddenly activated, and two figures appeared. The pair shared a look before stepping out.

"Silence." Batman commanded.

The heroes stopped talking and faced the two. They were both intimidating in their own way, but seeing them look like this was downright terrifying. While Robin didn't look much better than before, Batman looked worse. His cape and gloves were gone, and his bare hands were covered in deep scratches like he had torn his arm out of a barrel of glass. Both of them were covered in massive amounts of dirt that it looked like a building had fallen on them. Considering how Robin had ended the message, it was a very likely possibility.

The Bat's looked human, and no one was prepared for that.

Batman nodded once to his partner, and Robin quickly ran out of the room. The Dark Knight then turned to his shocked colleagues.

"Early last night, Robin and I were investigating a disturbance at the Southern Gotham Docks. "he began. "It looked like a gang war and we intervened, but we soon realized that it was a trap." Batman pulled up a screen in front of him, and a symbol appeared. "The thugs were actually highly trained assassins for the League of Shadows. " Artemis tensed, but he tactfully ignored it.

"What does this have to do with us?" growled Hawkwoman. "I take it they were no match for you."

"Obviously." Batman growled back. "But while we were distracted, the League brought an atomic bomb into Gotham."

The league choked on air, but Batman decided it wasn't worth his time, and he pulled up a map of Gotham. "It took us three hours to locate the bomb here." he said, pointing to a red dot at the center of the map.

"Hold up!" yelled Green Arrow, "You have a nuclear bomb in your city, and it takes you _three hours_ for you to contact us?"

"We should have met in Gotham." agreed Artemis. She had just come from there, she could have helped sooner.

"We wouldn't have contacted you at all, had the situation not escalated." Batman said, meeting their eyes.

"Escalated! How could it have possibly-"

"Focus, Arrow. I'll tell you." interrupted Batman, "We found the bomb, and with it, the leader of the League of Shadows, Ra's al Ghul. We fought, and discovered that he does not want to detonate the bomb in Gotham, rather very, very far above it."

"Why would they want to do that?" inquired Hal Jordan.

"The EMP wave." guessed Barry, rubbing his chin. "High enough, it could devastate the entire North American power grid."

"Like what happened to the Reds, but so much worse." added Wally.

Batman nodded. "Exactly." he said. "So our main priority is to disarm the bomb."

At that moment, Robin walked back into the room. He looked completely refreshed. He was in a new uniform, and he had a bandage around his head to stop the cut over his eyebrow from bleeding. Batman nodded. "Robin will continue to debrief you." he said, and he strode out of the room.

Robin walked up to the active monitor and gestured to the map. "Yeah, Ok. So, me and Bats would usually handle this, but this time it's different."

"Of course it gets _more_ dangerous!" Green arrow exclaimed.

"Would an army of magically reanimated corpses qualify as more dangerous, Arrow?" Robin replied sarcastically

"..."

"That's what Batman calls them, honestly they're more like glowing zombies."

"...what..."

"Somehow, Ra's had this _great_ idea to modify the chemicals from the Lazarus Pit to create his army of undead. He controls them, and they've infested Gotham to protect the bomb."

" _What_."

"The serum was diluted, so not everyone who came back was _whole._ Thankfully,The disease only spreads into corpses, so things that are currently living things don't get infected-"

" _WHAT_."

"-which is a good thing, or we'd have to deal with an epidemic problem as well as a bomb problem- Wally are you Ok?"

The entire league had turned paler from Robin's explanation, but Wally was acctually vibrating so fast that the soles of his feet were starting to burn. He yelped and jumped up to stomp out the smoke coming from his boots. As Flash helped his partner, Diana turned to Robin.

"Why would Ra's Al Ghul want this?"

Robin pulled up the Al Ghul files up on the screen. "Ra's and his daughter, Talia, believe that the world is sick, and that all of it needs to be burned away so they start fresh. They always want to start with Gotham, they see it as the sickest part of the world, and if they can destroy Gotham, the rest will follow."

Hal Jordan walked forward cockily. "So you need our help to take out some Zombies while you Bats disarm the bomb. Got it."

"Don't underestimate Ra's," said Batman, walking back into the room with a new suit on. "He's a dangerous psychopath, holding an entire city hostage. One wrong move, everyone dies." He walked over to stand next to his partner. "The Gotham Zeta-beam is offline, We're going to have to fly. Rendezvous in the City Square. "

"And what about Us Non-Metas?" Artemis asked.

The Bats smirked.

* * *

Below them, Gotham burned.

Had Artemis not been so distracted by seeing her city slowly get infected and destroyed, she would have been freaking out about how she was in the Batwing with half the League. She would have also noted that this was a larger version of the craft that she had seen before, and she would have concluded that Batman must have multiple versions of this totally badass plane. She might have also noticed the rest of the league flying next to the plane.

But Gotham took up all her attention, so she did not.

"City Square is right Below us." Said Robin, who was sitting in the co-pilot seat next to Batman. "Deploying countermeasures now."

Suddenly, she could hear explosions and inhuman screams below her. A few moments later and the plane landed, and the back hangar door opened. Everyone stepped out, and the others landed beside them and looked to Batman for instruction.

"Robin, Aqualad, go into stealth mode and take the team up on the rooftops to find the bomb." He barked, "The League will work on fighting the reanimated, and evacuating citizens. When the team finds Ra's or the bomb, contact us and we'll converge on your location."

The team all noded and sprinted away, while the Justice League sprung into action.

* * *

After two hours of fighting, the Team had found Ra's on top of the GCPD building.

Immediately calling the League, they had begun to fight through the hordes, trying to get closer to the madman. The fighting had gotten easier once the League joined them, but Ra's had apparently recalled all of his minions, and new zombies were popping up everywhere. It didn't help that the corpses kept getting back up after a few minutes after being knocked out, but every time they got up, they would come back stronger.

Everyone was tired and dirty, when all of a sudden, everything stopped.

The rotting bodies encircled the battered heroes, but none of them made a move against the other. Then they heard slow clapping coming from the rooftop above them.

"Well done," Drawled an accented voice. "I didn't think you had it in you Detective, to call your colleagues for help."

Batman glared up at the rooftop where Ra's was standing. "Where's the bomb?" He growled.

"All in good time, Detective." He raised his hand, and made sure everyone could see the trigger in his hand. "Now, I suggest you listen, or my finger might just slip-"

"What do you want?" questioned Batman.

"Two thing's really." Said Ra's. "The one I suppose you told your colleagues is my desire to purge the world of the vile filth that inhabits it. " He gestured to the trigger in his hand. "This bomb will fulfill that wish perfectly. The second, However, is for you, Detective, to give up your misguided ways and join me."

"What is he talking about?" Superman asked, but Batman continued to glare at Ra's.

"Is that what this is all about?" He shouted.

"This is what it is _always_ been about Detective!" Ra's replied." Join me, become my right hand in the League of Shadows, and Gotham will be spared. Join me, and rule the world with my daughter at your side. Join me, and I may even let you keep your son, we both know he would make a good assassin."

The league stared in shock at Batman, but he remained stoic as he subconsciously stepped forward in front of Robin. "My answer hasn't changed. My answer will never change." He growled.

"That is your final answer?"

"I will not kill."

"Very well then," Ra's sighed and motioned to someone behind him. "I suppose I have no choice but to show you how easily you can break."

Behind him, his servant Ubu was pulling two docile zombies behind him. While the men on the rooftop were slightly distracted, Batman gave the signal to Flash to get ready to grab the trigger from Ra's. Then Ra's pulled the hoods off of the Zombies beside him, and everyone went still.

The zombies next to Ra's were a man and a woman. Their face was covered in shadow, but there was no mistaking the pearls around the woman's neck, or the costume that the man wore.

"I have always hated guns." said Ra's, pulling a small pistol out from behind him, "Too quick. Too sloppy." He continued, obviously enjoying the tension he had caused. "No, I much prefer it when it takes time for the victims to fall." Ra's then raised his hand, and pointed the gun at the couple.

.

BANG.

.

BANG.

.

Then the couple fell off the roof, and into open air.

.

.

.

SPLAT

CRUNCH

.

.

Nobody dared breath.

.

.

" _Flash. Go._ " Batman said in a deadly whisper that was more terrifying than any shout or growl could ever be.

Flash zoomed straight up the side of the building and knocked the trigger out of Ra's hands before he could blink.

Still speaking terrifyingly softly Batman gave orders. " _Manhunter, read his mind to find where the bomb is. Once you've found it, tell Flash and get it out of my city. Superman, Take him down before **I do.**_ " Nobody had to ask to know that he was talking about Ra's.

Robin was now shaking, from fear or rage nobody knew. "They're already dead, right?" he asked, his voice scarily similar to Batman's.

Batman nodded. "The rest of you," He growled without taking his eyes off of the two corpses on the ground. " ** _No mercy._** "

The battlefield exploded into chaos again, and the fight seemed to be going better this time, but then they realized why.

The Bats were not holding back.

Their moves, usually perfectly calculated to deal the most damage, but never kill, were now deadly with every strike. Batman shattered ribcages with his bare hands, Robin slit their throats with birdarangs, Batman broke their spines with a kick, Robin landed on someone's shoulder and broke necks with a twist. Zombies fell left and right. And this time, they stayed down.

Batman and Robin didn't look like they existed anymore, instead they were vengeful wraiths, destroying anything in their path.

Frighteningly soon, the fight was over.

Robin was standing far away, but his eyes were locked onto his mentor as he stalked over to the two reanimated bodies Ra's had killed. No one relaxed as Batman bent down to study the corpses

"It's not them." He breathed.

"Batman, come in Batman." Said Flash through the comlink.

"Report." Batman barked.

"The bomb is out of Gotham, and completely deactivated."

Robin stared down at his gloves, now stained the greenish color of zombie blood.

"Good." He growled. Diana tried to approach him. But he stormed past her, and crouched down so he was eye level with Robin. "It's OK, Robin, it's OK."

Robin continued to stare at his now shaking hands. He replied with the same whisper as before. "No, It's not."

Batman placed a comforting hand on Robins shoulder. "Let's go home." he said.

The rest of the league didn't know how to deal with this. The Batman was being obviously paternal, and he was comforted his son while they were both covered in blood and surrounded by corpses.

They didn't know what to do. Thankfully, Batman turned to them and helped them answer that question with six words. "Now get out of my city."

No one needed to be told twice.

There were some secrets of the Bat-family that _nobody_ wanted to know.

* * *

 **Reviews are appreciated!**


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